Damien Benaud: The star winger was left out of France’s Six Nations squad

Damien Benaud is a throwback maverick.

His teammates and coaches noticed his ambivalence about coaching. His indifference to defense is often evident on the field. Whatever tactics his team uses too, he is prone to shredding those plans as soon as the whistle blows.

When he wasted several clear-cut scoring chances in the win over Northampton 10 days ago, throwing unnecessary passes to his teammates instead, a theory emerged.

Having scored 14 tries – a record in a single edition of the tournament – en route to winning the European Champions Cup last season, Benaud has been amusing himself with trying to set a new milestone for attempted assists this term.

Purdue Beagles coach Yannick Brou’s, perhaps sarcastic, comments about Benaud chasing “different titles” fueled the conspiracy.

Managers have tolerated Benaud’s eccentricities in the amateur era because, at his best, he is one of the best wingers in the modern game. An aggressive runner, with a long stride, with a nose for the gap and the ability to overwhelm the defense with the unexpected.

When this model dries, patience can quickly wear out.

Fabien Galthie is a completely different character from Benaud. When Benaud’s lackluster performances (among many of his teammates) cost France against England in last year’s Six Nations, the winger was unceremoniously dropped for the following round against Italy. Benaud returned and scored in the decisive tournament win over Ireland.

However, this season, without a rich string of goalscoring attempts to press his case, he finds himself on the outside.

Theo Atesugbe, who replaced Benaud last year when available and scored three tries in two Six Nations matches, looks likely to team up with Luis Bel-Bear and Thomas Ramos in a back three.

Benaud’s reaction will also be interesting. He will draw courage from Bordeaux Beagles teammate Mathieu Jalibert, who declined to call up Galthie in November 2024 because he felt he was undervalued as a backup option.

That could have been the end of his international career. But Jalibert’s good form has overtaken Galthie and he is likely to start the tournament at the age of 10.

Can Benaud show the same hunger to get his shirt back?